Chelsea news: PSG could delay Ezequiel Lavezzi's transfer to China until after Champions League tie

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) could delay Ezequiel Lavezzi's transfer to China until after their Champions League tie against Chelsea. The 30-year-old is set for a big-money move to Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, but his signing may be delayed because of PSG's injuries.

Lavezzi is set to sign a two-year deal with the Chinese side in a deal worth up to £7.5m ($10.7m) before their window closes on 26 February. In the short-term, however, the Argentine may be forced to remain with the Parisians as they look to cope with injuries to key players Blaise Matuidi and Javier Pastore.

"The club will tell you more than me on this. We had anticipated this because we opened the door during the winter transfer window. He did not take the chance. If he now leaves, we have not arranged to replace him," manager Laurent Blanc said of the proposed move, according to The Mirror.

"We will have to think about whether to keep him for Chelsea or not. If tomorrow, the attackers have muscle problems, we will have to think about it."

PSG opened up a 24-point gap at the top of Ligue 1 with a 2-1 win at Marseille yesterday (7 February). Blanc was unhappy with their general performance, but is confident of an improved showing in their Champions League tie against Chelsea. "We are not used to opposition teams who can develop their play. When they did it, like Marseille tonight, it made us suffer physically," he said.

"We couldn't get the ball back as we wanted. But it is not the last match before Chelsea – we have two more this week. In any case, we showed we were solid enough to defend the score."